Sports Podiatry

Injuries We Commonly Treat

• Ankle sprains, and the recurring instability that often follows a poorly rehabilitated sprain
• Shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome)
• Stress fractures
• Achilles tendinopathy and heel pain
• Plantar fasciitis and arch strain
• Forefoot and toe injuries, including metatarsal and joint pain

How they develop

Sporting injuries come either from a single incident or, far more often, from repetitive overload. Common contributors include:

• Training errors — doing too much, too soon, or changing several things at once
• Inadequate warm-up, recovery or footwear
• Biomechanical factors such as foot alignment, calf flexibility or hip control
• Hard or uneven training surfaces, or a sudden change of surface
• Returning to sport before an earlier injury has fully settled

The last one matters more than most people expect. A previous injury on the same side is among the strongest predictors of the next one, which is why we treat rehabilitation as part of the treatment rather than an optional extra.

Biomechanical and Gait Assessment

Treating the painful structure alone tends to produce a recurrence. A biomechanical assessment looks at why that structure was overloaded in the first place. It typically involves:

• A history of your training: volume, surfaces, footwear and what changed before the pain
• Joint range of movement, muscle strength and flexibility through the lower limb
• Assessment of alignment from the hips down, so problems higher up the chain are not missed
• Gait analysis to see how you actually load the limb when walking or running
• Examination of your footwear, including wear patterns, which are often informative

Treatment and Return to Sport

• Accurate diagnosis first, including referral for imaging where a stress fracture or other bony injury needs to be ruled out
• Settling the injured tissue, with strapping, offloading or activity modification
• A tailored strengthening and loading program, which is the part that does most of the work
• Custom orthotics or footwear changes where the assessment shows loading is contributing
• Shockwave therapy for stubborn tendon and soft-tissue problems that have not settled
• A graded return-to-sport plan, so load is rebuilt at a rate the tissue can tolerate

Timeframes depend on the tissue involved and how long the problem has been present. Bone and tendon both have slower biological timelines than muscle, and we will give you a realistic expectation for your specific injury rather than a generic one.

Worth Getting Assessed If

• Pain has persisted beyond a week or two, or returns each time you resume training
• You are altering your technique or gait to avoid pain
• There is focal bony tenderness, night pain, or pain that worsens as activity continues
• You have had the same injury before
• An ankle has sprained more than once

Common Questions

Do I need to be a competitive athlete to see a sports podiatrist?

No. Most people we treat for sporting injuries are recreational — walkers, park runners, weekend sport players and people returning to exercise. The assessment is the same; only the return-to-sport target differs.

Will I have to stop training completely?

Usually not. Complete rest tends to cause deconditioning without addressing the cause, and the problem often returns on resuming. More often we modify volume, surface or activity type, then rebuild load progressively.

Do I need orthotics for a sports injury?

Not always. Orthotics are indicated when assessment shows that how you load the limb is contributing. Many sporting injuries are managed with a loading program, footwear change and training adjustment instead.

What should I bring to the appointment?

Bring the shoes you train in, including any older pairs you have been using, plus shorts or loose clothing so we can assess the lower limb. If you track your training, details of recent volume are genuinely useful.

This page is general information about a common foot condition and is not a diagnosis. Last reviewed September 2026 by the podiatry team at The Foot and Ankle Specialists.